Moonlight and Fireflies
by Niveus
Summary: Katara finds herself taking a path she didn't expect. This new path she walks with a fallen Prince, who turns out to be more or less the Prince Charming of her dreams. Now, if only there could be a happy ending...
1. Love Blossoms

**Moonlight and Fireflies  
Chapter 1 - Love Blossoms**

The boat drifted quietly down the placid river. Katara stifled a sigh, sitting at the edge of the boat's front and gazing tiredly into the dark water. Clouds scudded across the wan moon reflecting in the smooth water surface. She wasn't alone but she felt that way. The boat was small with a tiny cabin made for storing a bit of traveler's luggage. The man the boat had previously belonged to had uh… sort of _forgotten _his stuff when he'd been unexpectedly _called away_.

Yeah, so that wasn't the whole, true story. The boat owner had been a simple firebender pauper, a local of a small town occupied by the fire nation. Katara got a little caught up in a mess stirred up by her temporary companion - since she'd gotten separated from the family.

She glanced behind her at the sleeping prince, recovering from some singes and bruises. Katara was a bit the worse for wear herself, but Zuko had typically taken the brunt of the hostilities. Well, it was only fitting seeing as _he _had been the cause of all the trouble.

_Princes_, Katara thought with a roll of her eyes.

Well, he wasn't exactly the picture perfect prince of her childhood fairy tales, but he wasn't bad. Strangely in the day and a half they'd spent together, she found him to be… gallant. That is, when he wasn't gnashing his teeth or shutting himself away, minus that one exception… when they'd found the two of them actually had something in common.

She turned forward again and rested her chin on her knees. It seemed like the night was dragging on. She couldn't allow herself to sleep, being too unsure of the distance they'd placed between themselves on this boat and the seething fire nation soldiers further up the river. It was hard to say how long they'd drifted, but there didn't seem to be anyone following them. Hopefully it would stay that way.

Her pulse jumped when she heard a sound. Then she realized it was Zuko. She let out a breath of relief, and turned around to him. "How are you feeling?"

Zuko groaned. "What... What happened?"

"You got rammed by a rhino and fell off a cliff," she explained, carefully reaching a hand over to check the wound on his back. He was laying on his stomach, which she'd tried to make a little more comfortable by placing a bunch of clothes she'd found in the cabin on the boat's hard floor.

Cringing slightly, Zuko pulled himself up to his hands and knees. "I can't believe those fools burned my scarf."

"They were stupid thugs with nothing better to do. It's hard to believe anyone would think we'd have something worth stealing," Katara said, helping him sit against the boat's rim. Then she saw the frown on his face. It looked too much darker than usual, and his amber eyes... seared as they locked with her gaze. She pulled her hands back to herself, eyes widened. "What's wrong? Listen Zuko, I know you don't like being touched, but I swear all I did was touch your back a little… to heal it! I—"

"Stop. I was just thinking of those thugs… I should've done more to them," he said, a growl almost rumbling up his throat as he looked angrily to the side.

Katara's brow furrowed. "Anymore and you might have killed them," she told him, then remembered that he was probably hungry. She'd found a sack of fruits in the cabin too. An apple might quell his temper some, she thought as she slid over to the cabin. It really was such a small boat.

"They wanted to hurt _you_, Katara," Zuko suddenly said.

She glanced back at him momentarily, unsure of what he was sulking about, and then pulled the sack from a box she'd rummaged through earlier. Her own stomach had taken compensation from two small pears earlier. Now it was dinner, so she took out an apple for each of them. When she turned to face Zuko, she froze again. Instead of anger, frustration filled his wild eyes.

"Don't you get it? If I hadn't been there, they might've… they could've…" He struggled with the words.

Katara was not a child. She understood what he was upset about. Easing to her seat, she quietly looked at the red apples in her hands. "I know. But you _were _there, Zuko. And I'm really thankful. Still… I think if you've learned anything about me in the time we've spent together, it's that I'm not a helpless little girl. I can fight too, so you don't need to worry so much."

He was silent, gloomily staring at the boat floor.

"Here," she said, holding out the apple for him. He silently accepted it. "It doesn't matter now. That's in the past, and we're okay." With that said, she sat back on her side of the boat and took a bite of the apple.

Their boat was sailing beneath a tunnel-like canopy of trees. Some moonlight filtered through to create glittering patterns on the water surface. They were heading southeast toward Kioshi Island, and then further south. Katara hoped to come across Sokka, Toph, and Aang along the way. She'd been worried about them since they'd split up in Ba Sing Se. That crazy Long Feng had his loyal _friends_, the Dai Li, chase Katara out, and she'd consequently came across Zuko who'd gotten in another bout with his sister.

What a mess…

She glanced down to see a silvery catfish sticking its head out of water to look at her… or more specifically, eye the apple. Her expression went flat. But the most of the apple had been consumed, so she rolled the apple off her fingertips into the water. The fish chomped it down in three bites.

"At this rate we won't reach Ogurai-kou in days," Zuko muttered.

Katara placed her elbow on the boat's edge, and propped her chin on her hand. "It's not like we can walk all day and all night. We should probably just sit tight until daybreak when we've rested up."

"Then why aren't you resting?"

Katara gave him a sidelong glance. "Huh?"

Zuko took a last bite from his apple before tossing it over his shoulder. Such a grim look on his face. She wondered if he ever smiled. "You don't trust me, do you?"

At that she turned to face him again, glaring at him. "What are you talking about? First of all, wasn't it only this morning _you _demanded to take control of our pooled funds? And second, when you've spent a hard month constantly having to look over your shoulder because _someone _is trying to kill you, it becomes kind of difficult dropping that sense of basic survival!" she fumed, and at some point had jumped up to her feet. She thought she heard an unnatural ruffle of water, but she was too focused on Zuko to care what it was.

The Prince stood up and growled back, "The thing about the money is because we agreed to divide up responsibilities as long as we're traveling together. And if you had any idea about the things going through my head when I thought my father might still actually care about me, you wouldn't dare say a thing about my previous actions!"

"Oh yeah? Sure, it seemed we agreed to share responsibility, but when did we ever agree that YOU would be the one to assign tasks and boss me around! And the only thing I have to say about your obsessive pursuit of Aang before is that you. Were. WRONG!"

There was a loud splash. It happened the moment Katara threw her fists down by her side. And it was too late to stop the large wave that'd formed from the river water from crashing down.

It was like the boat was accidentally kicked by a giant as it slammed against the river edge, and then grinded against the earth and trees that were hanging out from the land. Katara and Zuko managed to duck in time to avoid the tree barely inches above them. The cacophonic grinding noise continued for a few long seconds until the river settled.

They stayed low until there weren't trees hanging over their heads. Then Zuko sat up and grabbed the paddle resting between them to re-center the boat. Katara sat up just as Zuko angrily dropped the paddle back on the boat floor.

Silence ensued for what seemed like the longest time ever.

Katara had her arms crossed tightly, glaring at the shapeless shadows in the forest. Now she fiercely wished the river would pick up the pace. Hold on... Why hadn't she thought of that earlier? By daybreak, she could easily bend the water to propel the boat and they'd surely get to their destination quicker. Yeah! She twisted half way around, bright-faced, before she remembered she was angry at her companion. Quickly she turned her back to him and donned her angry mask again.

"I think your temper is the worst I've come across, and I'm from the Fire Nation," Zuko grumbled.

"Gee, that's a romantic thing to say," she rebuked.

"What?"

She blinked, quickly looking at him. "What?"

"Wait a second. What exactly did you say?" he asked, giving her a confused look.

She blinked again. And then her cheeks started to burn. Turning back around, she desperately searched for words to cover her goof up. No, he'd probably lose interest if she just didn't say anything at all. Of course. Yes. That would work.

But why _had _she said that? She was simply being sarcastic surely but… Had she been implying something? Did she…?

"Fireflies."

Gulping carefully, she steeled herself before giving Zuko her wary attention. His demeanor had cooled down astoundingly, and he appeared perceptive as he looked ahead of their boat. She followed his gaze to see the small glowing lights hovering midair. Her composure returned for the pretty scenery they floated into.

"Just like small stars," Zuko commented.

Katara was awed by the twilight mood surrounding them. She reached out at a golden firefly as it flew by. "Dancing flames," she offered.

Her heart pounded when she noticed the touch of heat. Rolling her eyes to the corners, she saw Zuko practically sitting shoulder to shoulder with her. It was then she realized the sparks between them weren't just dancing fireflies.

"Zuko, I… I really am so grateful you—"

"Stop." He looked at her, their closeness hardly allowing for breathing room. (Although she wasn't sure if she was breathing anyway.) "It was nothing. You can trust that… I will be there to protect you. Whenever you need me."

The fireflies lent a mesmerizing blaze to his amber eyes, showering them in gold. Then there were those sensual lips, and his fine-tuned body… She started blushing furiously, and quickly turned her head forward. But she couldn't bring herself to move away from him.

So she stayed there, stayed close, wrapped in his fiery warmth.


	2. Collision

**Moonlight and Fireflies  
****Chapter 2 - Collision**

Splash!

Katara's eyes fluttered open. Pulling up from the warm sand of sleep seemed particularly difficult to do this morning. In fact, she could just bury herself back beneath it and wonder about it later. She twitched her nose before shutting her eyes again. It got as far as a half-sleep when she then realized…

Her eyes snapped open. Her body went completely rigid.

Where was she?

Boat. Drifting down a river. Traveling to Ogurai-kou. With Zuko.

…

Zuko!

She suppressed a squeak. Carefully she turned her head, and was met with a very close close-up of the Prince's sleeping face.

_Aww—ah! No! What am I doing!_

It was hard to maintain her cool. But, no. There was nothing to be upset about. Nothing happened. The boat was small. Yes, the boat was small, and that was the simple, legitimate reason why Zuko was laying right next to her.

Even though she was nodding to herself in concurrence... she was still laying there, staring at him.

She stopped nodding. Her mind was ceaselessly telling her to scoot away from him because there would never be anything between them, er… except for a big wall separating nations, incurable differences and entirely unlike goals, and…

Zuko started to wake.

Urging herself to calm down, Katara carefully slid up to the side of the boat, putting a more excusable distance between them. She hugged her knees, only then acknowledging the morning chill when it was too late to snuggle up to the safe fire her companion housed.

After a little stretching, the Prince finally opened his eyes. Katara couldn't help but notice how cute he looked just awakening.

He pulled up to his elbows and took a survey of the surrounds. Then he looked at Katara. "You didn't have to wait for me."

"Huh?" she uttered confusedly.

Zuko sat up all the way, yawned and scratched his head before looking around a second time. "Last night you mentioned something about using your waterbending to make travel go faster," he clarified, his casual gaze set on her. There wasn't really an emotion Katara could pull from the amber eyes. Strangely that bothered her. How could he speak of last night like nothing happened.

Not that anything did... but she'd think he would have _something _to say about it. Had she read all wrong into their moods last night? Maybe she was making too big a deal out of it. Heck, maybe she'd imagined everything! Seriously, what was she _thinking_? The very idea this handsome _Prince _could possibly have a thing for a mere "peasant" was ridiculous. To him she was probably just a burden anyway. He was traveling with her just because deep down he really did have a good heart. It was charity. It was nothing.

"Katara? Are you alright?" Zuko said with an unusual tone.

Katara blinked and saw the wary look in his eyes. It hadn't occurred to her that her thoughts were reflecting on the outside, namely turning red in the face and tensing up pugnaciously.

She clapped a hand to one side of her cheek, and flashed the best smile she could. The accompanying coy giggle sounded painfully fake—even to her own ears. "Haha… Of course! I'm just _fine_. You're right, I _did _mention a better way of travel… last night! Um, okay. Just stay seated. I'll take care of it," she proclaimed brightly. Then she hopped up to her feet and took a stance.

With her back turned to him, she let the facade come down, and focused on her task. At least with this, she wouldn't have to face the Prince for most of the day, if not all of it. Still, she couldn't quite peg why she was feeling so grumpy, so let down, so _used_…

"You're sure you're alright?" Zuko questioned in the same unsteady tone.

Katara didn't answer. _Yeah, just let him wonder. It'll give him something to wile away the UNBEARABLE hours he has to spend with a plain Water Tribe peasant!_

"_Katara_. Can you at least _try _to keep the boat on a stable course?"

_THAT DOES IT! _She whirled around, throwing her fists down to her sides. "Do you think you can do better? Is that it? Maybe I _can't _live up to your impossible standards! Maybe I _can't _be the princess acceptable to an absolutely FANTASTIC Prince such as yourself! AND I DON'T WANT TO! If you think you can do better, fine! In fact, why not just dump the useless burden you obviously think I am, and we can both move on with our lives SEPERATELY!" The rant was out. Oh, it was out. She huffed, and puffed, hardly aware that the boat had been turned backwards, floating tipsily along the slow currents.

Zuko was scrunched against the edge, shocked and surely confused. "I could… _help _you steer… with the paddle… if you want…" A change suddenly occurred in his eyes. He scowled and slowly stood up to tower over her. Katara could feel the annoyingly tempting heat emitting from his flaring nostrils. "Wait. Since when do you get the _audacity _to speak to me like that? All I've ever done since we agreed to travel together is be _nice_. You're the one who's been judging me the whole way! Can you give me an example of when I've ever been unfair to you?"

"What about just a minute ago when you basically told me how to do what I do best, and that's _waterbend_. How'd you like it if I told you how to firebend!"

"You're crazy!"

"And you're a hypocrite!"

They growled in each other's faces.

Zuko's expression was the first to go soft. He sighed, and looked down at the boat floor. "What are we doing? I thought at least _some _of the thorns had been removed last night. Now, things just seem to be worse…" he seemed to half be speaking to himself.

Katara felt his sorrow. She held one arm, and downcast her gaze shamefully. It sounded as though last night _had _meant something to him after all. She'd been too insecure about herself, and too distrusting to have faith in her own heart and accept what should have been plain to see.

"I… I'm sorry… Zuko. I just thought…" She looked at him, finding his steady, mollifying gaze. Her cheeks scalded. She looked down, shaking her head and smiling bitterly. "I guess I was just being stupid. But… I promise, it won't happen again," she added quickly, blushing more and more it seemed.

And then it happened…

Prince Zuko _smiled_.

She blinked, in partial disbelief, partial wonder, and very stunned. Maybe it _had _happened at least a few times before, because his skin didn't crack. Zuko's smile was surely a rare natural wonder of the world.

"Wow. A phenomenon right before my eyes," she whispered.

His brow raised in question.

A quiet moment passed. Their gazes stayed linked, and slowly they drew closer together. Katara slowly closed her eyes in tandem with him. Perhaps a tiny centimeter from lip contact, there was a loud sound.

Splash!

They straightened up and alertly probed the surroundings. Katara thought she saw something submerge beneath the murky water. It disappeared in a billow of disturbed sand. She glanced at Zuko, who stared at that spot in the river. Their boat drifted over it bit by anxious bit.

Water suddenly sprouted up around what looked like a seal.

"WAAAH!" Katara yelped, jumping back into Zuko, who automatically took her in a protective embrace. They both stilled when they got a good look at what it was.

"Hello, there!" a man in a slick black wet suit and bug-like goggles greeted. "Oops! Didn't frighten you, now, did I?"

Katara and Zuko exchanged looks.

"What do you think you're doing? Who are you?" Zuko demanded.

The man lowered his goggles to dangle around his neck, revealing a pair of mirth-filled green eyes. "Hm? Oh, yeah! I noticed this boat floatin' about earlier, but I didn't want to wake the folks who were obviously trying to sleep in it," he said with a wink that made Katara scramble away from Zuko.

Zuko wiped a hand down his face out of annoyance. "You didn't answer either of my questions!"

Bandit was a little concerned with keeping pace with their boat. It took him a moment. "Ah, sorry! How rude o' me!" he said, "My name's Bandit! Pleased to meet ya!"

Katara couldn't help but gape.

Zuko's hands curled into fists. "You... If you even think about—"

"See, I was huntin' for some o' these," Bandit finished, and opened his gloved palm to reveal a few beautiful looking gems. Katara inched closer for a better look, unconsciously staying protected behind Zuko. "They're called 'Tears of the Stars'! Well... that's what _I _have been calling 'em anyway. They fetch a handsome sum on the casual market. Royalty and common folk alike are drawn to the natural appeal of these things. What do ya say, boy? Would ya like to special order a personalized ring for your lovely girlfriend?" Bandit winked again.

Now Katara just wanted to punch the guy. Which was probably a little nicer compared to what Zuko was thinking of doing to him, considering his eyes had turned a hard yellow. But then, Zuko's body betrayed his threatening demeanor with a growly stomach. He folded his arms across it, his teeth visibly grinding together. Zuko was _not _having a very good morning. Katara felt somewhat guilty for that...

"Oh. Empty tummy, eh? Not a good feelin', that. I know! How's about I cook us all up a delicious breakfast! My treat for spoiling your romantic getaway!"

"WHAT? Listen, _Bandit_—"

Katara tugged Zuko's arm. He looked at her impatiently, and she whispered, "I _think _that our scant food supplies might have fallen overboard some time when... well..."

Gladly, she didn't get a scolding like she surely deserved. Zuko just let out a defeated sigh, and Bandit beamed, darn near blindingly. He paddled his free arm through the water a few times to catch up to them again.

"You comin' around? Good, 'cause I wouldn't want you whippersnappers to starve out here! Ain't a town for miles, but my home's just a few minutes away. By the by, I hope none of that stuff that landed on me 'neath the river was yours..." he added, rubbing his chin with his free hand. "Strange. Sounded as tho some young lovers were havin' a spat." The smile and poorly muffled snicker told the teens Bandit would be pushing his luck to breaking limits often.

Katara never noticed the pensive look in Zuko's eyes as he stared at the gems still held out in Bandit's hand. Because she hardly had the chance when the boat crashed into a thick tree branch jutting out of nowhere.

The morning was just getting better and better.

* * *

AN: Thanks for the reviews! Sorry that I didn't clarify if this fic was a one-shot or not. It's a short fic, a ficlet! Hmm... that sounds kind of funny... Ahem. Yeah, so this might be five chapters long.

Hope you enjoy! And um... maybe review? (hopeful smile)


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